Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

3 Min Read

(Adds Blackstone Group, Alrosa, Nestle, Formula E)

May 4 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday:

** U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group’s US$20bn acquisition of a majority stake in Thomson Reuters’ Financial and Risk (F&R) unit is expected to close in late summer as regulatory requirements make a targeted July 1 completion look increasingly unlikely, sources familiar with the matter said.

** Russian diamond miner Alrosa may buy diamond polisher Kristall to support the country’s gem-cutting industry and help create a stronger competitor to global group De Beers.

** Nestle, the world’s largest packaged food company, is close to a deal with Starbucks Corp’s on its grocery business, according to media reports.

** Formula E founder and chief executive Alejandro Agag has made a 600 million euro ($716.34 million) bid to take full ownership of the company, the all-electric series said.

** Newell Brands Inc expanded a divestiture plan, which will eliminate a third of its sales, and the consumer products maker said it is selling its Waddington Group packaging unit for $2.3 billion in a bid to be a nimbler company.

** British Airways-owner IAG is considering its options after Norwegian Air Shuttle rebuffed two takeover advances, IAG said, warning some airlines will struggle to survive as fuel prices rise.

** Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart’s board is yet to finalize a deal to sell a stake to Walmart Inc, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, adding that a deal could just be days away.

** Chinese private equity firm CDH Investments lobbed a last-minute $1.4 billion offer for Australian liver-cancer treatment firm Sirtex Medical, trumping Varian Medical Systems days before the U.S. firm was set to seal a takeover deal.

** The Dhaka Stock Exchange has received approval from Bangladesh’s market regulator to sell a 25 percent stake to a Chinese consortium that includes the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges, the DSE’s top executive said.

** Cleveland Square, an investment vehicle run by private equity investor Gary Klesch, has raised its stake in British roadside recovery group and insurer AA, a regulatory filing showed.

** Pharmaceutical group Bayer has sold a further stake in plastics company Covestro for 2.2 billion euros ($2.64 billion), placing a holding of 14.2 percent via an accelerated bookbuilding process.

** Brazil’s CPFL Energia SA is eyeing distribution assets being sold off by state-run utility Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. (Compiled by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru)